The Pack (2015)

The Pack: Directed by Nick Robertson. With Jack Campbell, Anna Lise Phillips, Katie Moore, Hamish Phillips. A farmer and his family must fight for survival after a ferocious pack of wild dogs infiltrates their isolated farmhouse. Through a series of frightening and bloody encounters they are forced into survival mode to make it through the night.

“The first thing I checked after blindly purchasing u0026quot;The Packu0026quot; was if itu0026#39;s a remake of the tense but sadly forgotten 1977 horror/thriller with the same title and directed by Robert Clouse. Itu0026#39;s not, and I guess that makes sense, since u0026quot;The Packu0026quot; is a logical and common title for a movie about a bunch of wild dogs entrenching petrified families. Nevertheless, I couldnu0026#39;t wait to watch it fast, because I have a fondness for Aussie horror and particularly because Iu0026#39;m always in the mood to see a good old-fashioned u0026quot;animals gone bad/nature against humanityu0026quot; flick. Itu0026#39;s already a personal favorite sub-genre of mine and, quite frankly, Iu0026#39;ve been so fed up with horror movies about cannibalistic/inbred families lately, that an u0026quot;animal-attacku0026quot; film sounds extra fresh and appealing! The best possible thing I can write about u0026quot;The Packu0026quot; is that debuting director Nick Robertson did an exceptionally impressive job when it comes to building up tension and sustaining the uncanny atmosphere. The body count is rather low, Iu0026#39;ll reveal that much, but itu0026#39;s a rare example of a recent horror movie where you develop sympathy for the lead characters and move towards the edge of your seat during the chase sequences. The plot introduces the Wilson family, living on an isolated farming estate in the remote Australian countryside. The rebellious teenage daughter wants to move back to the city and the parents are virtually bankrupt, mainly because all their sheep are getting killed by a pack of bewildered dogs. When the dogs move in closer, the mean and nasty debt collector from the bank is the first one to get what he deserves. But savage dogs donu0026#39;t care about mortgages, and pretty soon the familyu0026#39;s sole concern becomes the nightly battle for survival. I like my u0026#39;nature revoltsu0026#39; movies best when the animals in question are as normal as possible. Like in the awesome 1977 film, these dogs arenu0026#39;t mutated, sick or excessively large. Theyu0026#39;ve just gone savage because they were abandoned and depend on their natural killing instinct to survive. Simple, perhaps, but even more efficient and itu0026#39;s exactly what makes them more menacing. There are a few clichés and fake jump-scares, but also a bit of decent gore and the attack sequences are more than adequately illustrated. I didnu0026#39;t know any of the names in the cast, but they all put down good performances. u0026quot;The Packu0026quot; isnu0026#39;t the most memorable or spectacular horror/thriller youu0026#39;ll ever watch, but itu0026#39;s certainly worth and hour and a half of your life.”